January 24 Halifax Contra Dance
Schedule
Sat Jan 24 2026 at 07:00 pm to 10:15 pm
UTC-04:00Location
All Nations Church, 2535 Robie St, Halifax, NS, Canada, Nova Scotia | Halifax, NS
Advertisement
Dance DetailsThe dance is… a beginner-friendly community dance that's welcoming to everyone! With super awesome live east-coast tunes by top-notch Halifax musicians. Non-gendered and welcoming to all. While you don’t need to bring a partner, you will be dancing with many individuals throughout the night.
More information on our dances can be found on our website: https://www.halifaxcontra.ca/details-about-our-dances/
Schedule:
7PM: Doors open - come early to stash your coats and get yourselves signed in!
7:15-7:30PM: Beginner orientation - mandatory if you haven't danced with us before
7:30PM: Dancing starts at 7:30 sharp!! We'll wrap up around 10pm.
Location: All Nations Church Hall – 2535 Robie St at Charles. The entrance is up the wooden ramp on Robie.
Musicians: Jeremy Finney and Décota McNamara
https://jeremyfinneymusic.com/
https://soundcloud.com/decotamc/
Caller: Elizabeth MacDonald
Cost: Cost is sliding scale! Admission is $15 or more if your budget allows -- otherwise, pay what you can – even a twoonie is appreciated. Payment is CASH ONLY! Thank you for remembering to bring cash!
What to wear:
-Low-heel, smooth-soled shoes (if it’s mucky out, bring a pair of clean shoes if you can)
-Comfortable clothing and layers… you will get hot!
-But – we’ll have doors open for ventilation, so bring warm layers for the start- it is chilly at first 🙂
We encourage you to dress in what makes you comfortable - whether casual clothes, pyjamas, fancy dress-up clothes or a full-on costume. Come in the clothes you will have the most fun in!
We encourage a scent-free environment, but still recommend the use of deodorant 🙂
You should bring:
-Cash for admission
-A water bottle (you will get thirsty!)
DANCING SCHEDULE
7PM: Doors open
7:15PM: Beginner orientation
7:30PM: We run through the following sequence: spiral dance, mixer dance, duples scatter dance - short break
8:15(ish): We introduce contras in Becket formation, and dance our first (and easiest) "real" contra dance.
8:30(ish): We are increasing the difficulty, introducing new figures with each dance.
If you are an experienced dancer who prefers to avoid the introductory stuff, aim to come after 8:30, and you'll be ready to jump into contra dancing in long lines. 🙂
Advanced contra dancing:
To continue to challenge our experienced dancers, the last 3+ dances of the evening will be called with minimal teaching and longer dancing times. Beginners are welcome to try these dances, but will dance in a separate line. Advanced programme scheduled for 9:30-10:10pm.
A note on payment: We run a lean operation and volunteers organize and call our dances.
Your entry fees go to pay our professional musicians and the church hall, and generally we under-pay for both. That is why we are grateful if you can pay more than $15 for admission. On the other hand, we want to ensure our dances are accessible to everyone. If you cannot pay $15, please don't worry - just pay whatever you can. The most important thing is for you to come and have fun with us 🙂
Questions? Comments? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch: [email protected]
Advertisement
Where is it happening?
All Nations Church, 2535 Robie St, Halifax, NS, Canada, Nova ScotiaEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
